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By Gurpreet Singh - 30th October 2009
Pratibha Devisingh Patil, President of India, visited the Palace of Westminster this week.
MPs, peers and staff from across the parliamentary estate gathered in the Robing Room yesterday to hear her speak about importance of economic, cultural and political links between India and the UK
President Patil was visiting Britain to launch the 19th Commonwealth Games, to be held in New Delhi in 2010.
The 12th President of India, she is the first woman to hold the post, which is mostly ceremonial.
President Patil was formally welcomed by the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow and the Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman.
Speaker Bercow began proceedings by commending India for its commitment to democracy, its phenomenal economic rise and its contribution to international cuisine.
In an extremely crowded Robing Room the Indian President rose to rapturous applause.
She began by speaking of the links between "our two great nations" and thanked the British public for its kind hospitality on her first state visit to the UK.
Addressing both Houses of Parliament, President Patil commended the work of the All Party Parliamentary Group on India for bringing together parliamentarians from the worlds largest democracy and one of the world's oldest.
Wearing an elegant turquoise and white sari, she stressed the importance of representative parliaments and urged more women to get involved in the political system.
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